da Vinci WatercolorSeries 498 Casaneo Paint Brush, Round Quill New Wave Synthetics, Size 4

I’ve searched far and wide for the perfect brush—one that feels like an extension of my hand, holds its tip, has a large water carrying capacity that won’t dump it all at once on the paper, and has a smooth feel on the paper. This is it! It outperforms even my expensive kolinsky sables. I own the #0, #2, and #4 Casaneo quills. Between those three I don’t really need any more brushes and I mainly use the #0 and #2. I never thought a synthetic would outperform a natural hair brush until now. Now I’m not sure what to do with all the rest of my brushes that I never use!

This quill watercolor brush is an excellent replacement for any animal hair quill watercolor brush. It is a little bit on the expensive side but considering how much watercolor it sops up and distributes it is worth having paid a bit more!!

I’m a beginner, but this is The best brush I have! Amazingly soft and silky. Paints beautifully. Able to do thin and thick lines. Take good care of it so it lasts long. Wash with water before use. Would like to have more of these with time.

Was excited to get these especially since they were cheaper than a few others I was looking at.These however were not worth the price. I received them in perfect condition with a nice point. As soon as I added water and brushed the water paper, it was over. The point of the brush completely bent and now stays at a 45- degree angle while a few other hairs just poke out to the sides.Thinking, maybe I just got a bad brush, I ordered a second one. The exact same thing happened again. :( I even tried to recondition the brush with a good brush cleaner and still nothing.Never buying these again.

This brush was recommended by a professional artist. It holds a lot of paint/water which makes it so nice for watercolor. It is well balanced and feels good in your hand.

I purchased early in learning to watercolor, and while it wasn’t what I had hoped, I wasn’t sure if this was “normal” for this brush, so I didn’t return. I assumed this was my poor technique. After learning a little more, and trying some other brushes (including the fabulous “Raven” quill brush from Jackson’s Art, which cost 1/4 the price of this Casaneo), I realize this is not how a quill faux squirrel brush should behave. They should come to a point that is at least semi-sharp when wet. Dry, many great quill brushes do not point at all, but this can be normal.I included a photo of several other watercolor rounds and quill brushes (dry, I didn’t have wet photo when doing the review), and you can see that, even dry, all these brushes have a nicer point than my Casaneo. Wet, all the others come to beautiful points, and the Raven holds an equal amount of water as the Casaneo does. The Princeton Neptune has a similar water capacity, and a slightly better point (although it is still less “sharp” than other faux squirrel brushes in the comparison photo). The sharpest pointed, snappiest brushes hold less than after than the Casaneo, Raven, or Princeton Neptune. I believe this is fairly typical. The Princeton Neptune in the photo looks scraggly, but this is just the dry brush fibers catching on the paper towel. The brush works beautifully, and is in perfect condition.I contacted Da Vinci to see if this was a typical, normal condition for their brushes, and was asked to send photos, both wet and dry. Those are the same photos in my review. They replied that they could not determine if the brush was defective or if this was the normal/expected performance, and I would need to ship the brush to them to determine. The least expensive shipping to Germany from the U.S.A was nearly the price of the brush, so I decided not to send it in. The customer service rep was very pleasant, and while I don’t believe that the company should be obligated to replace or fix a problem without being sure that the fault is theirs, this is still not what I consider fantastic customer service. I have mixed feelings about this, because I realize that there are a lot of people that abuse return and warranty policies, but at the same time, watercolor brushes can be fairly expensive, and the result for someone like me (who most likely purchased a defective brush) is that I will be MUCH less likely to purchase from the company in the future. The CSR did say that the Casaneo quills should keep their tip, but I probably won’t put my hobby budget on a DaVinci brush in the future.. If it is a quality control issue, I would expect most companies to replace a barely used brush that is relatively expensive. If I had not found the Jackson’s Raven, I might consider purchasing a Da Vinci quill from Blick, which has really great customer service (I would be confident that I could exchange or return if there was an issue). If the Princeton Neptune made a tiny quill, I would definitely get one of those, also.…as an aside, when I contacted Princeton with a question about one of their budget brushes, I received a response from “Howard”, who I believe is the owner, within less than 24 hours. My question was not a concern/complaint, and would have theoretically only resulted in a <$10 purchase, so the response speaks highly to their overall approach to customer service. It also affected my future purchases: I have since spent $150-$250 dollars on Princeton Aqua Elite brushes, which is their best quality synthetic watercolor brush line. I try to support companies that I have a good experience with, and I felt comfortable making the investment that if there was an issue, Princeton would be there to support their products. Thankfully, all the brushes from Princeton have been just what I was expecting. I’m planning to purchase more Neptunes as well, as I learn better water control.I suspect that my Casaneo quill was defective (based on photos of others), but I don’t like to return items if I think it’s my user error or poor choice, so I will be reluctant to try Da Vinci brushes in the future, in spite of hearing relatively positive things about their brushes.Hopefully my experience will help anyone with their decision.

This is quickly becoming my favorite brush. I love that you can paint a variety of different size strokes with it. From petals to fine lines.

You know how it feels when you use a pen that flows so well that it improves your handwriting? This brush is a joy to use. Loads and flows like it's $100 twin. I swear my painting has improved. No loose hairs!

If you want an affordable alternative to a sable brush, this is the one for you. All Da Vinci Caseano brushes are winners

Who needs sable? The Caseano range are the best synthetic brushes out there

Soaks up plenty of paint or water, lovely and soft

Amazing brush, very useful, I love it. Will buy more.

Seriously this is the best brush I’ve ever used! It is amazing!